Brain Science: Neuroscience & Behavior

We’re joined by Dr. Elisha Goldstein, psychologist, author, and speaker who co-founded The Center for Mindful Living in Los Angeles and created the coaching program, A Course in Mindful Living. He also co-developed the popular CALM (Connecting Adolescents to Learning Mindfulness) program with his wife and psychologist Stefanie Goldstein, Ph.D. If you’ve ever used the Calm app, you might be familiar with his voice as he walks you through mindfulness practices to help calm negative emotions and anxious thoughts. He has extensive expertise in mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and today he’s sharing his wealth of knowledge using mindfulness to naturally reduce anxiety and be more present and aware in our lives. Discuss on Changelog News [https://changelog.com/brainscience/32/discuss] Join Changelog++ [https://changelog.com/++] to support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear! Featuring * Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. – Twitter [https://twitter.com/Mindful_Living], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elishagoldsteinphd], Website [https://elishagoldstein.com] * Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mireille-reece-33ab357] * Adam Stacoviak – Twitter [https://twitter.com/adamstac], GitHub [https://github.com/adamstac], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamstacoviak], Website [https://adamstacoviak.com/] Notes and Links * elishagoldstein.com [https://elishagoldstein.com/] * The Center for Mindful Living [https://www.mindfullivingla.org/] * The Mindful Living Collective [https://members.mindfullivingcollective.com/] * 21 days to relieve anxiety naturally [https://21dayanxietyrelief.com/] * What’s the difference between mindfulness and meditation? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVK5BPbwKYo] * Calm [https://www.calm.com] - Find your calm. Sleep more. Stress less. Live better. What Is the Negativity Bias? The negative bias is our tendency not only to register negative stimuli more readily but also to dwell on these events. Also known as positive-negative asymmetry, this negativity bias means that we feel the sting of a rebuke more powerfully than we feel the joy of praise. This psychological phenomenon explains why bad first impressions can be so difficult to overcome and why past traumas can have such long lingering effects. In almost any interaction, we are more likely to notice negative things and later remember them more vividly.

Most of us have heard how important “self-care” is and how important it can be for healthy living. But what exactly IS self-care? In this episode, not only do we define what self-care is, but we talk through the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of what’s involved in self-care and why this can so often be misunderstood and challenging. While we might be familiar with this term, many may not consider how they can be deliberate around managing themselves by both reflecting on and engaging in activities that help support their brains and bodies. It isn’t enough to simply know that self-care is important, rather discovering practical actions you can take to improve both how you feel and how you engage with the world.

Stress is something that we will inevitably encounter throughout our lives. It isn’t all bad or maladaptive, but how we manage it can make a significant difference in our lives. The degree of stress we feel impacts how we show up in the world including both how we relate and how we do the work before us each day. In this episode, Mireille and Adam discuss the impact of stress on our systems including the role of different stress hormones on our immune system, cardiovascular system and our metabolism. Like many other conversations on previous episodes, we provide research relative to the value of relationships as having close connections helps us all combat the stress that loneliness can cause as well. When we utilize resources to support us as well as set limits on what we expose ourselves to and focus our attention to, we have the opportunity to better navigate the stresses of our lives.

When you lack clarity or have uncertainty for a direction or goal, it’s going to be difficult to succeed in your actions. Today Mireille and Adam discuss the topic of clear communication and expectation, two of the most important ingredients of success. How do we create better clarity? Like so many things — clarity begins with awareness, and awareness of yourself. You have to know what you want and what you value in life. We must assume 100% responsibility for creating our own clarity in our lives. After all, “if you don’t have clarity, you are operating from assumption.”

Conflict is a part of everyday life. If you are connected to other humans, conflict will eventually occur. But what exactly is conflict? Where does it begin? How can it be resolved? In this episode, Mireille and Adam dive deep into those details to examine the framework of conflict end-to-end, to hopefully equip us with the tactics and skills we need to better navigate and resolve the conflict we encounter in our lives.